Police: Bank robber sprays employees with chemicals

Citibank in Shenandoah robbed Monday

A man sprayed bank employees with chemicals during a robbery on Monday, police said.

Shenandoah police said a man walked into the Citibank on Vision Park Boulevard near Interstate 45 about noon.

Detectives said the man pulled a small-framed semiautomatic rifle from his backpack and walked up to a teller. The man demanded cash and sprayed the teller with the chemicals, believed to be pepper spray, investigators said.

There was one customer in the bank at the time of the robbery who was also sprayed, officials said.

Police said the robber then went from office to office and sprayed other employees. Some employees were able to close their doors and avoid the substance, investigators said.

The man went back to the teller he attacked and demanded cash, officials said.

Detectives said they are not sure if the man got away in vehicle or on foot.

The man was described as black, in his early 20s and 6 feet 4 inches tall with shoulder-length dreadlocks. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt, a brown hooded sweatshirt and a baseball cap. He was carrying a black backpack and possibly a long rifle, investigators said.

The people who were sprayed with the chemicals were treated at the scene. Hazardous materials crews cleared the air inside.

Anyone with information is asked to call Montgomery County Crime Stoppers at 800-392-STOP.